BG014's Backyard: Where Bwen Happens

"When the principles of breeding and of inheritance are better understood, we shall not hear ignorant members of our legislature rejecting with scorn a plan for ascertaining by an easy method whether or not consanguineous marriages are injurious to man."-Charles Darwin (1871)

Monday, February 2, 2009

Some people are fixated on the fallacy that cousin couples pose an intolerable risk to their offspring. However it is likely that we are all descendants of cousin marriages. Before civil laws banning cousin marriages, it was preferable to marry a cousin in some communities as it is to this day in many countries. The notion �why marry a stranger is just as prevalent in many countries as the cousin marriage taboo in America today. There is a wide range of opinions on the subject of cousin marriages. This is fuelled by erroneous information, bigotry, and presumptions. Further we have civil laws and religious creeds based on obsolete information.

The facts about cousin marriages are much clearer.

Fears of cousins who marry having children with birth defects are exaggerated. Simply marrying within your own race increases the odds of birth defects. Marrying within your own town further increases your chances. Cousin couples have only a slightly higher incidence of birth defects than non-related couples.

1. 26 states allow first cousin marriages; most people can marry their cousin in the US.

2. US prohibitions against cousin marriages predate modern genetics.

3. No European country prohibits marriage between first cousins. It is also legal throughout Canada and Mexico to marry your cousin. The U.S. is the only western country with cousin marriage restrictions.

4. Children of non-related couples have a 2-3% risk of birth defects, as opposed to first cousins having a 4-6% risk. Genetic counseling is available for those couples that may be at a special risk for birth defects (e.g. You have a defect that runs in your family) In plain terms first cousins have at a 94 percent + chance of having healthy children. Check the links section for more information on genetic counselors. The National Society of Genetic Counselors estimated the increased risk for first cousins is between 1.7 to 2.8 percent, or about the same a any woman over 40 years of age.

5. Second cousins have little, if any increased chance of having children with birth defects, per the book "Clinical Genetics Handbook�� courtesy of the March of Dimes.

6. The frequency of cousin marriages in the USA is about 1 in 1,000. The frequency of cousin marriages in Japan is about 4 in 1,000

7. It is estimated that 20 percent of all couples worldwide are first cousins. It is also estimated that 80 percent of all marriages historically have been between first cousins!

8. In some cultures, the term cousin and mate are synonymous.

9. Albert Einstein married his first cousin. And so did Charles Darwin, who had exceptional children.

10. Franklin D. Roosevelt, the longest serving US president in history married his cousin (not a first cousin, however they shared the same last name).

12. God commanded many cousins to marry, including Zelophehad's 5 daughters, Eleazar's daughters, Jacob (who married both Rachel and Leah, first cousins), and Isaac and Rebekkah (first cousins once removed)

13. It is likely that Joseph and Mary -- Christ's earthly parents were first cousins.

14. Current studies indicate that cousin couples have a lower ratio of miscarriages -- perhaps because body chemistry of cousins is more similar. The verdict is still out.

15. We are all cousins. No two people are more distantly related than 50th cousins.

It seems to me that a closer interaction with fans calls for a stronger goal. We will get to MoA one agonizing step at a time. For now, a voice to be heard. A message to be read. A site for sore eyes. A welcome hangout for Bwenners. This is where we spread our message and let it be heard. Cousin relationships will no longer stay in the dark, overshadowed by ridiculous lies. This is history-in-the-making.